Money and the Middle Ages

Jacques Le Goff sets out in this book to explain the role of money, or rather of the various types of money, in the economy, life and mentalities of the Middle Ages. He seeks also to explain how, in a society dominated by religion, the Church viewed money, and how it taught Christians what attitudes they should adopt towards it and towards the uses to which it could be put. He shows that, although money played an important role in the rise of towns and trade and in state formation, there was no capitalism but only a pre-capitalism in the Middle Ages, even by their end, in the absence of a truly global market. This is why economic development remained slow and limited, in spite of some remarkable success stories. It was a period in which it was as important to give money as it was to earn it. True wealth was not yet the wealth of this world, even though money played an increasingly large role in reality and in mentalities.

No similar discussion of this subject, aimed at a wide readership, has previously been published. Written by one of the greatest medievalists, this book will be recognized as a standard work on the topic.

Jacques Le Goff is Professor of History, and formerly head of
École des hautes études en sciences sociales. He was a
leading figure in the Annales School and his book Medieval
Civilization is a classic.

This is the first accessible discussion of the role of money in the life and economy of the Middle Ages.

The author pays particular attention to the way in which the Church viewed money, and how it taught Christians what attitudes they should adopt towards it and towards the uses to which it could be put.

He shows that, although money played an important role in the rise of towns and in state formation, there was no capitalism but only a pre-capitalism in the Middle Ages. This is why economic development remained slow and limited, in spite of some remarkable success stories.

This compelling new work will appeal to students of economic and medieval history, as well as the interested general reader.

"Le Goff is magisterial in his treatment of medieval documentary
sources, and of modern historical debate."Ashmolean Museum

"Money and the Middle Ages provides those insights into the
period which we associate with this master of historical
writing."Times Literary Supplement

"Le Goff has produced a masterpiece: a work which brings together
all the complex issues surrounding money and the ways it was
conceived and utilized. At the same time he has succeeded in
telling a story about individual people and their hopes and
fears."Michael Clanchy, University of London

"In this sweeping essay, at once concise and inventive, Jacques Le
Goff returns to a theme on which he has been writing for over fifty
years: history, culture, and money. The argument is brisk,
the examples wonderful, and his engagement with the material and
religious contexts as vigorous as ever. This is still the Le Goff
whose history-writing has proved so influential for two generations
now."John Van Engen, University of Notre Dame

"A very clear and authoritative analysis of the perception and use
of money across three very turbulent centuries of western European
history"MAKE Literary Magazine

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